20 of top Hollywood celebrities first appearance on screen

Rose · « **on:** Jul 21, 2013, 08:07 PM »

Jean-Claude Van Damme in 'Monaco Forever'

JCVD made a brief and not particularly memorable turn in the low budget 1983 flick 'Monaco Forever'. The most memorable thing about his role was his character's name 'Gay Karate Man'. They didn't even manage to spell his name right....

George Clooney in 'THE HARVEST' (1993)
Just two years before Clooney made it big in 'ER' he starred in little-known film 'The Harvest'. His character is credited as simply 'Lip Syncing Transvestite', and he fleetingly appears in lip stick and a crop top. Suffice to say at this point he was not considered a heartthrob.

Elijah Wood in 'Back to the Future II'

When Elijah was just 8 he made his first big screen appearance in the 1989 film 'Back to the Future II' playing 'Video Game Boy'.

Jake Gyllenhaal in 'City Slickers'
Jake made his film debut playing Billy Crystal's son in the 1991 flick 'City Slickers', a decidedly different kind of cowboy film to Gyllenhaal's 2005 success in 'Brokeback Mountain'.

Jennifer Lawrence in 'Monk'
Oscar winning actres Jennifer Lawrence made a comparatively humble debut in an episode of OCD detective drama 'Monk'. We barely even get to see J.Law's famous face as she plays a sports mascot complete with Lion's head.

Photo by CBS

Brad Pitt in Dallas
The future leading hunk of Hollywood first graced our screens with his Adonis presence on an episode of 80s soap opera, 'Dallas' , where he played a vengeful ex-boyfriend.

Alanis Morissette in 'You Can't Do That On Television
Angsty songstress Alanis Morissette might have a whole lot of indy cred as a recording artist, but her start in showbiz was a lot more mainstream... Alanis first appeared as a host on a global hit Nickelodeon TV show before reinventing herself as a music star.

Photo by Pearson Television

Those tiny red swimsuits and glistening six-packs might get most of your attention but try and keep your eye out for little Miss Mila Kunis next time those Baywatch reruns come on TV. The future 'Friends with Benefits' and 'Black Swan' star sparkled in her first on-screen appearance as a heroic little girl who saved the day in a heart-stopping episode of s7 Baywatch.

Photo by Fox Broadcasting Company

Emma Stone, Malcolm in the Middle

Yes you can totally see the awesome Emma Stone on the set of family tv series Malcolm in the Middle can't you. In the last season episode of 'Louis Strikes Back', Stone makes one of her first TV appearances as a high schooler who takes her revenge on a crush who doesn't like her back. 'Easy A' style? Guess you'll just have to watch the episode and see for yourself! In this time, Stone also made appearances on shows "Medium" and "Lucky Louie" before she got lucky with her first feature debut in 2007 gross-out comedy, "Superbad".

Photo by NBC

Joseph Gordon Levitt in the 90s tv series, The Powers That Be showed his flair for playing the gifted genius role he'd later reprise in 'Inception'. As Pierce Van Horne, Gordon-Levitt was the precocious, but unbelievably cute son of the show's lead characters who was mature beyond his years, smarter than his parents and clever enough to hack into the school's computer system one time.

Photo by Apatow Productions

James Franco's roots in Hollywood don't betray the cool, intellectual 'hipster' image he's cultivated these days. Franco's big break in the biz was this leading role as Daniel Desario in the well-acclaimed but short-lived (and hence now, cult) adolescent dramedy series, "Freeks and Geeks". Franco played one of the "freaks" in a group of friends that also starred future Hollywood heavyweights, Jason Segal and Seth Rogen!

Photo by Hughes Entertainment

Scarlett Johansson in Home Alone 3.

Before she burst onto the scene as the sexy but smart 'it' actress with 'Ghost World' and 'Lost In Translation', ScarJo cut her teeth on minor roles like the older sister of Alex Pruitt, the protagonist of Home Alone 3 (which did not star Macaulay Culkin.) Hey, sequels almost never work out well, no matter the future starpower attached....

Photo by Paramount Pictures

Michelle Pfeiffer , the star of Grease 2 .

What, you've never heard of Grease 2? That's because it was an utterly dismal failure that could have, and should have, snuffed out any chance of a movie career for Pfeiffer. At least that's what happened to her co-star,Maxwell Caulfield. Pfeiffer managed to survive the trainwreck which was her first major starring role- she escaped most of the bloodbath but her agent later admitted that due to her association with the film, "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her." In fact Brian de Palma, the director of 'Scarface' refused to audition her at first for the role which would catapult her to stardom, because of her performance in Grease 2. He relented only on the producer's insistence, and Pfeiffer must still be thanking her lucky stars to this day.

Photo by Sony Pictures

Julia Roberts's smile lit up the screen for movie-going audiences for the first time in the 1988 big-budget film "Satisfaction" where she starred opposite Liam Neeson and Justine Bateman. However it was actually the the movie "Bad Blood", made in 1987 and released in 1989 that is Julia's first film credit. The future star of 'Pretty Woman', 'Notting Hill' and 'Erin Brokovich' has a very small role in this family affair of a movie- she directed her two lines of dialogue to brother, Eric, who starred in the film.

George Clooney is the most dapper and suave Hollywood gent out there, but is well known for having an acting resume that is well balanced in terms of hits and misses, (Batman & Robin anyone?) One of his first appearances on-screen was in the tv detectives show, 'Riptide'. Everyone's got a mixed bag when you're trying to make it in Hollywood.

Photo by Samuel Goldwyn Company

Matt Damon made his film debut with a single line in a dinner scene of 1988 rom-com "Mystic Pizza" which starred Julia Roberts, his future 'Oceans Eleven'. His one single line that signalled the start of a glittering career as Hollywood leading man? "Mom, do you want my green stuff?". It could have so easily ended up on the cutting floor.

Leonardo di Caprio made his first big splash in the acclaimed but short-lived tv show, Parenthood

Before he graduated from drama school and scored the substantial role of Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film two days out, Orlando Bloom had no on-screen credits except for this 'blink and you'll miss it' scene in the 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde, 'Wilde' , where he plays a 'Rent-boy' amongst more distinguished cast members (a veritable treasure trove of Brit A-listers) including Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Ioan Grufford, and Jennifer Ehle.

Madonna began her cinematic career with the decidedly low-rent, melodramatic, 1 hour 'cinematic feature' 'A Certain Sacrifice'. It's release in 1985, six years after it was made, aimed to capitalise on Madonna's 'Like A Virgin' record launch and she tried to prevent the mediocre film's release. She stars as Bruna, in the film, a flightly lovestruck young woman who is raped and then abducts and murders the rapist in a Satanic ritual. None of the cast were paid for their work in the film.

The presence of a young Jack Nicholson in 1960 cult film, Little Shop of Horrors has made the film (the inspiration for the Broadway musical) an ever popular choice amongst cinema enthusiasts. Nicholson's first ever on-screen role, as Wilbur Force, was heavily promoted on re-releases and home DVDs of the film.

'Scrubs' star, Zach Braff 's cinematic debut was a doozy! He must have been thrilled to be in the same shot as some Hollywood legends in Woody Allen's 1993 film, 'Manhattan Murder Mystery' which starred Diane Keaton, Anjelica Huston and Alan Alda. It's certainly a step up from his appearance on the Babysitters' Club episode 'Dawn Saves the Trees'.

Rose · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 30, 2013, 07:47 AM »

I like the first two as they are represented as gay. lol

Advertisement

20 of top Hollywood celebrities first appearance on screen

Rose

20 of top Hollywood celebrities first appearance on screen

Rose

Re: 20 of top Hollywood celebrities first appearance on screen